Really? My 3rd grader has to learn all 50 states?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This was covered in MoCo and DC 3rd grade earlier in the year. An example of why the coon core is important.

That's rather racist...

Pp probably meant common core. It was probably auto correct because she mistyped. Your comment is what's racist.

[Anonymous]

FCPS: my kids learned it in second--capitals and states. I do remember a song that helped.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just this week, my dd got sent home with a list of all 50 states and their capitals and apparently needs to learn all of them asap and where they go on the map. Dammit. I am so over school and sick of homework. Last night, I found our 50 states jigsaw puzzle, and her studying consisted of putting that together. I wish we had some sort of syllabus like in college so I would know when this stuff would get foisted on us.

When my kid was in elementary just a few years back, parents often did get a syllabus, depending on the teacher. Some handed out a general one for the year or the first half of the year, when we visited during the back to school night. And now even some elementary teachers (if you're in FCPS, not sure about MoCo etc.) use the Blackboard system and there is a parent version of that where some teachers will post a syllabus.

Next year, just ask the teacher(s) if they can provide one to parents. If they say, well, we change things up as we go, smile and say you would be happy with just a general syllabus so you can be more aware of what your child is doing week to week.

I do get it -- you're venting because yeah, we are all pretty sick of how this school year seems to drag on and on...We're sick of it at our house too. And next school year, the last day of school in FCPS is JUNE 23 so the year will feel even longer....

[Anonymous]

I learned them in third grade in alphabetical order by a song. Fifty nifty United States from 13 original colonies....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not an FCPS standard and not part of the POS.

So does this mean they shouldn't learn them??

+1
My DC (now in 5th grade) has never been required to learn the states and I can't fathom why. I went to school in FCPS back in the 70's and we had to memorize all of the states and capitals in the 4th grade. This should absolutely be required, but I guess I'll be teaching it myself over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That is wonderful!

Have they travelled much in the states? Maybe you can make it a game, mapping out the states they have visited and the states they want to see next.

Get an old fashioned US driving map from Walmart and some markers and have at it.

What a great way to use class time now that SOLs are over. You should thank the teacher.

+100

[Anonymous]

I remember learning states and capitals in 3rd grade, but my teacher was wonderful. We got four or five states per week, starting at the beginning of the year, and we would learn a little history of each of the weekly 5, color a map of each state with its flower and bird, etc., and learn the capitals; the week's states and capitals were on our spelling lists for that week. Every Friday we played the Map Game, which consisted of two US maps being stuck to the boards in the front of the room, and then the class was put into two teams; when it was your turn, you went to stand in front of one of the maps, and a kid from the other team stood in front of the other map. The teacher would say either a state or capital, and the first kid to put a finger on that state got a point for his/her team. This sounds really simply, but we loved the Map Game! Also, by the end of the year we knew states and capitals really, really well. I still remember random facts about states I learned in 3rd grade.

It seems really weird and ineffective to just tell the kids to learn all 50 states and capitals this late in the year? They won't learn them well, and it will be a chore. Is your kid's teacher very young? It sounds like she messed up and didn't plan her time accordingly, or else somehow didn't realize she was supposed to have been teaching this all year, and then tried to cram it in at the end.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's not an FCPS standard and not part of the POS.

So does this mean they shouldn't learn them??

+1
My DC (now in 5th grade) has never been required to learn the states and I can't fathom why. I went to school in FCPS back in the 70's and we had to memorize all of the states and capitals in the 4th grade. This should absolutely be required, but I guess I'll be teaching it myself over the summer.

Get one of those talking states puzzles. My kids played with one of those when they were little and that was all they had to do. Teach the 50 Nifty United States song and your daughter will know her states in alphabetical order which actually comes in much more handy than you might realize....

[Anonymous]

This is OP. Thanks for the stack the states app. My dd played that last night and did the puzzle. The girls from next door were over, and they were all having fun playing that app. It has been rather cool how interested my dd is in this project. I haven't had to do hardly anything. Sometimes it is like pulling teeth, but this seems to be fun for her.

[Anonymous]

I was in 3rd grade in the very early 80s, and that's when we learned the 50 states, too. It seemed daunting at the time but we all managed just fine. Your DC will too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just this week, my dd got sent home with a list of all 50 states and their capitals and apparently needs to learn all of them asap and where they go on the map. Dammit. I am so over school and sick of homework. Last night, I found our 50 states jigsaw puzzle, and her studying consisted of putting that together. I wish we had some sort of syllabus like in college so I would know when this stuff would get foisted on us.

Our Arlington school has lesson plans posted, and you can always look up the curriculum. This stuff isn't hidden. So, basically, these syllabi do exist.

I remember having to learn all 50 states in third (or maybe fourth) grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I remember learning states and capitals in 3rd grade, but my teacher was wonderful. We got four or five states per week, starting at the beginning of the year, and we would learn a little history of each of the weekly 5, color a map of each state with its flower and bird, etc., and learn the capitals; the week's states and capitals were on our spelling lists for that week. Every Friday we played the Map Game, which consisted of two US maps being stuck to the boards in the front of the room, and then the class was put into two teams; when it was your turn, you went to stand in front of one of the maps, and a kid from the other team stood in front of the other map. The teacher would say either a state or capital, and the first kid to put a finger on that state got a point for his/her team. This sounds really simply, but we loved the Map Game! Also, by the end of the year we knew states and capitals really, really well. I still remember random facts about states I learned in 3rd grade.

It seems really weird and ineffective to just tell the kids to learn all 50 states and capitals this late in the year? They won't learn them well, and it will be a chore. Is your kid's teacher very young? It sounds like she messed up and didn't plan her time accordingly, or else somehow didn't realize she was supposed to have been teaching this all year, and then tried to cram it in at the end.

This is the perfect comment. Rote memorization is terrible. What separates us from other countries (in terms of our leadership and innovation) is learning the way you learned. It sounds wonderful.

Also, +1 for getting a syllabus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had to do this when we were kids. Why don't you want your child to be educated?

Ha! I do want them to learn this stuff. That's why I already had the 50 state jigsaw puzzle. I just feel blindsided by this stuff. They worked so hard to get through the SOL's, and now with swim team starting, it is hard to sit down and memorize all this stuff right now.

Worked "so hard" for the two 3rd grade SOLs? Seriously - are you kidding?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just this week, my dd got sent home with a list of all 50 states and their capitals and apparently needs to learn all of them asap and where they go on the map. Dammit. I am so over school and sick of homework. Last night, I found our 50 states jigsaw puzzle, and her studying consisted of putting that together. I wish we had some sort of syllabus like in college so I would know when this stuff would get foisted on us.

Our Arlington school has lesson plans posted, and you can always look up the curriculum. This stuff isn't hidden. So, basically, these syllabi do exist.

I remember having to learn all 50 states in third (or maybe fourth) grade.

Link?

[Anonymous]

http://www.history.com/shows/how-the-states-got-their-shapes/videos